Rosy Senanayake: Women’s Representation in Politics

Q:What do you think of the women’s representation in politics in Sri Lanka and what is it that a female candidate offers the public over the promises made by a male candidate?

Back in 1931 women’s representation in the Parliament was 4.5% and 79 years later it is now 5%.This clearly needs to increase. Women need to contribute with a strong voice and bring in to discussion women’s issues such as women’s rights, for example the Women’s Rights Bill that was shelved after the UNP brought it up in 2004.

Q:Do you think that there needs to be a legislative move to improve women’s participation in politics? And when/if you are appointed to parliament will you push for it?

Yes, there is a need to have a legislative move to improve women’s participation in politics and that is why I’m contesting. Women account for 20% of the UNF Working Committee. It is definitely something I will work towards.

I’m also fighting for a quota system. At a provincial level there needs to be at least 30% women’s representation. Countries that have implemented the quota system to increase women’s presence in politics have proven to be successful countries.

Right now we have ‘ready made women’ that come in to power.

It is usually a husband’s wife, a brother’s sister or a father’s daughter and it is their relationship to these famous or well known male characters that give them a chance to enter politics. That too has to change.

Q:Is it that the political sphere is not ready for more women or that women are not ready for politics?

Women are definitely ready for politics. At the grassroot level it is women that go from house to house to work towards enabling the men to come in to power.

They distribute handbills and who leads the way during protests? It is women. Women have to be given a chance to enter the decision making process as well.

Q:Politics, as they say, is a very dirty game and in Sri Lanka where it is a male dominated dirty game how does a woman participate while still retaining her dignity?

It is an absolutely difficult task, for a woman to thrive in politics even within one’s own party. You have to deal with thuggery, character assassination. But a woman politician has to be dedicated to win the people’s hearts and her sincerity can win over people.

Q:What do you think of the calibre of the female candidates contesting the upcoming Parliamentary Elections?

I would say any day that the women candidates are far better than some of the male candidates we have contesting.

Q:What advice would you give young women hoping to enter politics in the future?

Fight the system, fight the present electoral system. A good education is not enough anymore. We have enough graduates fighting rubber bullets and tear gas day in and day out. We need people intelligent enough to make politics a clean, admirable profession.

As today is International Women’s Day the Daily Mirror spoke to two women candidates, of the forthcoming Parliamentary Elections, Ms. Rosie Senanayake and Upksha Swarnamali both are from the UNP.

By Dilini Algama for DailyMirror